Searching for the right balance between the highs and lows of diabetes

Time to get going.

Back in my first post this year, I talked about my defining ideals for 2013. One of them involves staying as healthy and active as possible. To that end, I’ve made the commitment for my first athletic event of the year.

The Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure is entering its second year. To be honest, the Maryland Tour de Cure is closer to home… I wouldn’t even have to stay in a hotel for that one. But it’s a couple of weeks earlier, and you never know what the weather will be like here in early May. Plus, it’s in Carroll County, which is west of here, which means it’s very, very hilly. As in uphilly. As in, even a 30 mile ride would take a lot of effort.

On the other hand, the Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure is based in Easton, on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay. All of it is 100 feet or less above sea level. I’ve already done the Tour de Talbot there, which benefits JDRF and covers much of the same real estate. I know what I’m getting into. The 55 miler should be a great way to get started this year. If I can add the Tour de Talbot (in September) as a bookend to my events in 2013, I’ll be thrilled.

I’ll be honest… I would really love to participate in one of the big JDRF rides this year. But there’s a big reason why I don’t. You see, there’s a big difference between the ADA and the JDRF rides, and the difference is this:

1800 dollars.

If I want to participate in the Tour de Cure here in May, I have to raise 200 dollars before I’m allowed to ride in the event.

If I want to participate in one of the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes events, I have to raise at least 2,000 dollars. 1,999 dollars? No ride.

Granted, if I raise 3,000 dollars they’ll put me up in a hotel for three days, and if I raise four grand they’ll cover my airfare and ship my bike too. That would be fantastic, and I would sign up yesterday if I thought I could raise that much scratch.

I know it sounds like I’m hating on the JDRF rides, but I’m not. I greatly admire the people who can do this, and I will be contributing to as many of those efforts as I can myself. I encourage you to do the same.

But… even though almost everyone I know might contribute, almost everyone I know can only contribute 5 or 10 dollars at a time. I don’t know if I know 200 to 400 people. I’m not ruling it out, mind you. I really want to do one of those rides. But I’m going to have to wait another year at least.

In the meantime, ADA is still a great cause, and they do a tremendous thing organizing these rides all over the country. One suggestion: Please publish the ride route early. I hate having to wait until event day to find out where I’ll be going, and so does The Great Spousal Unit. She wants to be able to find me if I don’t check in by phone at the right time. You know what I mean.

A Disclaimer

I have no medical training. If you consider anything written here as medical, legal, financial, or any other kind of advice, you’re out of your mind. Please speak to a learned professional before making any changes that might affect your health. Any of the original content found on this site is my property and should not be reproduced, copied, or otherwise used without the author’s expressed written consent.